


Whatever It Takes

by Txny_Stxrk



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Irondad, Pepperony - Freeform, Time Travel, Wedding, engame spoilers!, like.... big endgame spoilers, morgan stark gets married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 07:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18806221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Txny_Stxrk/pseuds/Txny_Stxrk
Summary: His Morgan. His daughter. All grown up.He’d arrived at the reception of his daughter's own wedding.///Whatever happened to those extra Pym particles that Steve stole?





	Whatever It Takes

Sunlight shone through the tall windows of the compound as Tony walked towards the large machine that was in the centre of the room, the machine that he had built. A machine that did things that shouldn’t be possible. It towered over him. His own invention that would bring so much good for everyone - that would mean the event that was referred to as The Decimation would be undone. But for him? He wasn’t confident it would do so much good. He could feel that… call it intuition. No, he wasn’t magic, he didn’t believe in fate, he was a scientist.

 

But when the whole world was falling to pieces just when his happiness was figured out… well, it seemed like it would make sense that all of that would switch as soon as they had all of the stones and snapped their own fingers. Seemed like his happiness was too good to be true, and the moment that the ridiculous notion of a ‘time heist’ was proposed, an hourglass had been flipped and he could already feel the life he’d worked so hard for slip between his fingers as though it was sand.

 

He could struggle to hold on to it, or he could just let it go.

 

The others were mourning Nat out by the water, remembering her… they’d be distracted. He had time. It was a time machine, he had all the time in the world.

 

He’d only be gone for five seconds after all.

 

He opened his palm to reveal two vials of the Pym particle that he’d swiped when Steve wasn’t looking - the spares he’d taken from the seventies just in case they’d need to go back for another stone, in case someone made a mistake, but they weren’t needed anymore.

 

Enough for one round trip. Enough for him.

 

He activated the suit as the machine started up ( he just simply propped something up against the control board instead of telling Bruce about his little trip) before looking over at the door to the large room. It seemed the noise had alerted their resident supersoldier… or maybe he’d come looking for him. He saw Steve open it and start to hurry towards him, shouting out his name - or something, he hadn’t really been listening - but he was gone before anything else happened. Letting his mind draw him away like he’d done the last two times he’d travelled.

 

Then, when he opened his eyes, he was there. Where there was? He wasn’t sure. He’d just wanted to be shown something in the future, and the machine had done the rest of the work. He strolled around, trying to figure out exactly where he’d landed. Whether or not it had even worked or not...

 

The suit around him disappeared as he stepped towards the nice building in front of him – obviously some sort of hotel – and he gazed through the large windows that looked out into the dark night of the garden behind him. He knew that, with the lights on inside, it wasn’t likely he’d be seen unless someone was really looking. In fact, with the kind of celebration that was happening, he could probably go inside and still wouldn’t be recognised.

 

He didn’t dare go in.

 

He watched a specific woman with dark hair in a white dress, a dress that made the celebration obvious and reminded him deeply of Pepper’s a few years ago. Or he supposed many years ago at this time…

 

He remembered their wedding as if it was only yesterday. It had been beside the lake they decided to build their house beside, next to the water. Tony had nearly fallen in when he’d seen his now wife walk out of the cabin that had barely been finished and Rhodey had laughed at him when he had. She was always so beautiful, it was only then he’d realised she was his. He remembered her dress… It had been gorgeous and currently hung in their wardrobe. 

 

When he’d asked what she’d do with it one day, she’d just smiled softly and indicating to the daughter sleeping in his arms. “For Morgan,” she’d said as if it was obvious.

 

Was it hers? Or just inspired by it? 

 

The dark-haired woman danced with a man he didn’t recognise to music muffled by the walls before two other men swept her away from her new husband. This time, Tony did recognise them. It would be hard not to. But it hurt him to see how much they’d aged. How much time had passed.

 

Peter Parker and Harley Keener, his sons before he’d even realised he’d wanted kids, and he watched as they laughed and danced, looking like a family that he’d really wanted. The sight of Peter nearly had him crying right there and then - he had stubble for goodness sake - it was strange to miss a kid so much but to see him as someone he’d never known.

 

And then there was Harley, looking far bigger from the kid he’d met Tennesse all those years ago who he’d emailed back and forth but not seen once since. Good to see he was still owning that little shit eating grin. God, he could rule the world if he wanted to, and part of him hoped he did.

 

And then there was the dark-haired woman between them both, clearly younger than the taller boys, who treated them like family, like they were her biological older brothers instead of simply two boys who had no relation to each other - and to him had technically never met. In his mind, there was only one answer to who this dark-haired woman could be.

 

His Morgan. His daughter. All grown up.

 

He’d arrived at the reception of his daughter's own wedding.

 

God, and she was beautiful. As pretty as he always hoped. Just like her mother, but with his own eyes and hair colour. He felt the tears that had formed behind his eyes start to roll down his cheeks as he watched all three of his children dance and laugh together, feeling a wave of protectiveness wash through him. He nearly laughed aloud to himself at the ridiculous urge he had to storm into the hall and question the man who dare marry his little girl, but she’s an adult now, right? Though, he still wanted to give him the shovel talk.

 

He could, however, trust that Pepper would do so in his absence.

 

Speaking of his wife… His breathing hitched the second he saw her stroll over to their daughter, strands of grey hair as well as a few lines on her skin being the only evidence of her ever ageing. She was stunning. Barely looked any different than when he left her at home - and god his heart ached with how much he missed her.

 

Barely gone a week and he was already begging for his wife, he hadn’t been away from her side this long since he’d come off of that damned spaceship and he hadn’t planned on being gone this long again.

 

Tony watched as his wife laughed with their kids and the lack of himself by her side was the nail in the coffin he needed. Literally.

 

He would never leave his family’s side at his own little girl’s wedding. He knew he’d probably be at either one of their sides the whole evening. So he wasn’t there. And if he wasn’t there…

 

He took a step closer and placed a hand on the glass longingly, letting his silent cry turn into a fit of sobs as he mourned for the life he would never get. A future he would never see. And, even worse, he knew he wouldn’t change however things would end. There was only one reason he would give up being in Morgan’s future.

 

And that reason is that she wouldn’t get a future if he didn’t.

 

He considered stayed. Considered being in Morgan’s future life. After all, he’d only been gone five seconds. In those five seconds, he couldn’t see what he’d missed, but he could be there for more milestones. He could still let her have the father-daughter dance at her wedding, he could hold his first grandchild if she had any children, could hold her when she cried, could watch her grow up and be successful.

 

He could still be her father. All in five seconds.

 

But what if doing that stopped him from ever leaving? What if he risked this future just for his own selfish reasons? Risked his daughter’s happiness?

 

When he looked back up into the room, blinking his blurry tear-filled eyes to clear them, he saw his darling wife, Pepper, drop her glass as she looked dead at him. Watched as all three kids- adults, he corrected himself, look in the direction she was and he stumbled back. He’d stayed too long.

 

His five seconds were already up… god, he wished he had time to say goodbye.

 

He watched as Morgan left behind her mother, brothers, and her new husband that he’d never meet and headed for the door in a sprint impressive for a woman in a wedding dress, eyes desperate as she tried to get ahold of him in time.

 

But Tony was already suiting up because he was never supposed to have come. He was never supposed to be here. He was dead.

 

He knew he was dead because of the fact his family wouldn’t be staring at him with such disbelief if he was alive. 

 

He was scrambling with the Pym particle when the doors opened and he barely managed to meet Morgan’s eyes - his own eyes, filled with tears that were already spilling down her cheeks - before the button was pressed and he was gone. His five seconds were up. 

 

Before he vanished he smiled sadly and spoke one phrase. “I love you 3000.”

 

The devastated exclaim of “Daddy!” was left to echo through the darkness of the beautiful hotel garden as Tony gasped into existence 23 years earlier, new found determination in his damaged heart as Steve managed to catch him right before he fell, suit vanishing around him.

 

He cried because it wasn’t fair. He cried because he loved her. He cried because he’d never see her again and he knew that. Steve didn’t berate him for using the particle on his own, nor did he ask any obvious questions, he simply said nothing as he helped him back through to the common room. Tony did, however, mumble one thing to himself as they walked.

 

“Whatever it takes.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi so, i don't know how timetravel works, but obviously neither does marvel studios lmao so take this agnst i've been itching to write since i watched endgame (in between sobbing of course)


End file.
